Which former Yankees are performing best with their new teams?

During the offseason, the Yankees said goodbye to a handful of their mainstays from the last few seasons as well as several players closer to the fringes. Some of these guys were fan favorites, while others divided opinions in rather spectacular and polarized fashions. Now that we’re a month into the season, let’s check in on how those traded Yankees are adjusting to their new teams.

Note: This will just be reviewing Yankees who were dealt in offseason transactions, not anyone who left via free agency or outright release, like Corey Kluber or Clint Frazier.

Gary Sánchez

Sánchez and Gio Urshela were to the traded Twins in the deal that netted the Yankees Josh Donaldson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Ben Rortvedt. The Kraken blasted a grand slam during Opening Weekend in Minnesota, sending instant pangs of regret through a considerable portion of the Yankees fanbase. He’s cooled off since then and currently sports a .209/.274/.343 batting line with the lone homer, nine RBI, and an 85 wRC+ while also missing eight days at the end of April with abdominal tightness.

Gio Urshela

The other half of the blockbuster trade with the Twins, Urshela has fared just about the same as his fellow ex-Yankees teammate. In 25 games, he’s slashed .241/.311/.304 with one home run, six RBI, and an 86 wRC+ as the team’s everyday third baseman. And as was the case during his Yankees tenure, the defensive metrics disagree with his glovework at the hot corner, with DRS grading him as slightly above average while Statcast OAA has him slightly below average.

Luke Voit

There’s no doubting that Voit was one of the more feared righty sluggers when healthy for the Yankees. The problem is that his healthy spells grew fewer and farther between, leading New York to trade him to San Diego for minor league pitcher Justin Lange. It appears that they cut bait just in time, as Voit hit .143/.315/.167 with no home runs, five RBI, and a 64 wRC+ before landing on the IL on April 23rd with biceps discomfort (even a primary DH role couldn’t keep him off the shelf). He is currently serving a rehab assignment with Triple-A El Paso, though the results aren’t any prettier there.

Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images

Tyler Wade

It was a bit surprising to see the Yankees DFA Wade after last season, given his speed and positional versatility will always play in the majors. They likely felt those attributes did not merit keeping a Quad-A hitter on the roster, especially with escalating arbitration salaries, so they ultimately traded him to the Angels back in November for a PTBNL. However, with starting infielder David Fletcher on the IL since Opening Day, Wade has seen regular playing time at second and is putting up career numbers, batting .278/.339/.333 with no home runs, five RBI, three steals, and a 104 wRC+.

Joely Rodríguez

The Yankees and Mets made a rare crosstown trade when they swapped relievers on April 3rd, with Rodríguez heading to Flushing and Miguel Castro heading to the Bronx. Rodríguez pitched the seventh inning of the Mets’ combined no-hitter on April 29th — the second no-no in franchise history. It was the lone highlight of what’s been an otherwise shaky start to his Mets career, as in 8.2 innings, Rodríguez owns a 5.19 ERA, and 4.00 FIP while walking almost 15 percent of batters faced.

Albert Abreu

Abreu looked like he was finally carving out a role for himself in the Yankees bullpen, but when backup catcher Ben Rortvedt was placed on the IL, the Yankees suddenly found themselves short behind the plate. So, on April 2nd, New York traded Abreu and Robert Ahlstrom to the Rangers for Jose Trevino. He boasts one of the wackier stat line you’ll see in the early season — in 7.2 innings across six relief appearances, Abreu sports a 3.52 ERA, 9.08 FIP, and 28.9 percent(!) walk rate.

Nick Nelson

Nelson was another promising fireballer Yankees reliever, but his loss of the zone for outings at a time made the situation untenable, leading New York to trade him to the Phillies alongside Donny Sands for infielder T.J. Rumfield and pitcher Joel Valdez last November. In typical Nelson fashion, he has either been lights-out or completely blows up, with four straight scoreless outings to close out April but also a pair of three-run meltdowns including yesterday against the Mets. Put together, he owns a 4.30 ERA and 4.17 FIP across seven relief appearances totaling 14.2 innings.

All statistics are as of the beginning of play on Sunday.